


Sweet Cinnamon Coffee

by hibiren



Category: The Evil Within (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Car Accidents, Coffee Shops, F/F, M/M, Relationship(s)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-02-01
Updated: 2016-02-03
Packaged: 2018-05-17 14:19:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,395
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5873782
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hibiren/pseuds/hibiren
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Juli meets a barista one morning, who makes her a really interesting drink and things only get better from there...</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> so this idea stemmed from things Alec and I were talking about one day and we imagined Juli having a really super-cute super enthusiastic coffee shop girlfriend and I wanted to send out a chapter of it!

“Hi! What can I get for you, ma’am?” The girl behind the worn coffee-shop counter asked cheerfully. With a small sigh, Juli gave her answer as she fidgeted with her wallet.

“I’ll have a… I don’t know, I’ve had a long night, you can just surprise me. Whatever it is I’ll have a grande size…” Though her tone was heavy, it was mostly due to exhaustion. She’d just started off at the Krimson City Police Department as a Junior Detective and as such she was constantly running in circles for everyone else. Like all the fun of being an intern without directly stating it.

The girl’s eyes shone with worry and then a small flicker of curiosity at Juli’s request. Brushing a wisp of red hair that had fallen out of her bun back into place, she nodded eagerly. “Coming right up! That’ll be $4.92. Can I have a name for the order, ma’am?”

“Juli.” With a very slight smile, mostly reflecting off of the barista’s enthusiasm, Juli handed the girl a five dollar bill and told her to keep the change once her receipt was passed over, before walking over to sit at one of the empty chairs by the bar to wait for her drink.

A few minutes later, the barista called for her and Juli stood to go pick up the coffee cup. “I hope you have a better day today,” she offered and Juli returned her response with a quick nod.

“Thanks. I will.”

So Juli walked out with her coffee and began the short walk down the street to the Police Department. It was thoughtful of the barista to make her a hot drink given the overwhelming chill of the Krimson morning.

Before she tasted her drink, Juli removed the lid and blew on the contents in the cup, catching the sweet-but-not-too-sweet scent of the coffee. When Juli finally tasted it, warmth spread through her and she smiled her first real smile of the morning. That barista must have really had fun in creating her drink, since the blend of flavors was wonderfully rich but not overpowering. She tasted vanilla, cinnamon, a hint of chocolate, and something else she couldn’t quite put a name to despite its citrusy taste. And whatever it was, she’d definitely have to go back another day and buy it again. And she’d have to give that barista a proper thanks as well, she never even paid enough attention to get her name—wait.

Fishing around in her pocket, Juli withdrew the crumpled receipt from her pocket and unfolded it, catching the words at the bottom of the paper, “Cashier: Mandy.”

Mandy. Juli would just have to see the next time she was in the shop, maybe even ask her what was in the drink. Usually Juli prided herself on her stubbornness to not try new things but this drink opened her eyes to some of the things she was missing. When Juli walked into the offices still wearing that lightly blissful smile, the others (especially Sebastian) looked at her like she was crazy.

“You okay there, Kid?” Sebastian asked as he poked his head out of his office when he heard she’d walked in. “You better not be daydreaming on me, we have work to do.”

“Hm?” Kidman snapped her head up and tried to look like nothing was on her mind. “No, no, I was just thinking. Let’s get to work then…” She kept the cup in her hands and sipped at it happily, the comforting taste of the drink helping her get through the tiresome morning.

The next day, Juli had work again, same time as usual. Today she decided to go see if Mandy was at the coffee shop again, and also ask what was in that drink that made it so good.

When Juli opened the door to the small shop, the bell hanging over the door hinge gave a pleasant jingle and Juli was soon greeted with that familiar smile and wispy red hair tied back into pigtails today.

“Oh! Hi again! Juli, right?”

She nodded, suddenly feeling flustered since Mandy had remembered her name so easily. Would it have been awkward to address her as Mandy, then, or wait for her to introduce herself? She could imagine the conversation in her head. ‘How do you know my name?’ ‘I found it off the receipt.’ ‘Oh, that’s interesting…’ and then she’d probably laugh uneasily and might be creeped out. Juli was a detective after all so she did have ways of finding things out even if it might end up seeming somewhat creepy to anyone else…

“Yeah. I, uh, came back because that drink yesterday you made was… really good. Don’t think I’ve ever had anything anywhere I could compare it to.”

“Really?” Mandy’s eyes lit up happily and she almost leaned forward on the counter in her excitement. “Really? You really liked it? I mean, I just kind of threw things together, but I’m really glad you find it that good, oh my gosh, I—oh, I’m sorry, I got a little out of hand there.” She stepped back behind the counter and brushed her hair back behind her ears, glancing away with a nervous blush on her face.

“No, don’t worry about it. It’s kind of cute seeing someone get that excited over coffee.” Juli caught the meaning behind her words a little too late. God, it was so cheesy, like something out of one of those awful chick flick movies, the way they met. It’s not like she had feelings for the barista, or anything—she didn’t think… but the part about her being cute when she was excited was true. Something about watching her enthusiastic gestures as she talked was really heartwarming. As if she could forget about the daily pressures at work.

“Cute? I… um…” Mandy took a step back behind the counter but when the manager, a slightly intimidating-looking man in a black collared shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, walked out from the back of the kitchen to inspect what was going on, Mandy immediately snapped to attention and tried to act like nothing was wrong. “So, can I get that same drink for you again, Jul—I mean, ma’am?”

Juli couldn’t help but smile, it really was adorable, the way she got flustered so easily, she was like a small rabbit the way she jittered about. “Yeah, why not? I’d been meaning to ask you what was in it anyway.”

“That’ll be $4.92 again…”

Juli passed her a five dollar bill again and dropped her returned change into the small tip jar by the register. This time she stood nearby to watch how the barista made her drink, but for some reason, Mandy remained super-secretive about it, even going so far as to hide the cup and ingredients from her by keeping her back turned. It was hard to see over the tall counter anyway, and though Juli was tall she wasn’t that tall.

“Damn,” she muttered to herself jokingly, and soon Mandy had passed her drink across the counter and gave her that same gentle smile.

“Have a good day, Juli!” Mandy said, then adding in a small flustered squeak after a pause, “I… I hope you enjoy your drink…”

“I will. Thanks, Mandy,” Juli said with a wink and Mandy straightened up again, when she heard her name. She glanced down briefly at her nametag in confusion and then gave a quiet sigh. Of course, as any waitress, barista, or store employee did, she had her own nametag. It only made sense if someone addressed her by what was on it.

“You’re welcome!”

So Juli walked out of the coffee shop and headed down to work again, happy that she had her delicious drink in hand again. She went to remove the cup’s lid but was surprised to see something written neatly on the lid.

_555-4248_  
_So you can ask about the drink if you’d like_  
_-Mandy_

Oh, she’d gotten the girl’s number and hadn’t even tried or even said anything. Juli didn’t quite know how to react. If anything she was incredibly happy. Even if she’d met this girl only a day ago, there was just something so fitting about the way they’d met. Maybe Mandy was magic, or something, because whatever was in that drink probably had a love spell cast upon it. There it was again, and Juli scolded herself for being so cheesy…

At the very least, however, she had to hide this from her coworkers. She’d never hear the end of it if Sebastian or Connelly found out. They’d tease her endlessly—at least until one of them ended up with a high-heeled boot to the crotch… as much as she would have liked to do just that she thought better of it. She wanted to keep her job while she could. It was hard enough getting where she was and she didn’t want to ruin it with one reckless notion of payback.

And as soon as she got home from work she’d make sure to call that number… Quickly she pulled out her phone and copied over the number, just tossing the lid in the nearest trash can so there would be absolutely no chance of anyone finding out about her wonderful morning on accident.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (warning for slight explication of Juli and Sebastian responding to an accident, if you're squeamish about serious injuries uhh.. it's not too bad since it's a one-liner toward the end but I wanted to give people a bit of a heads up)

The workday passed in a blink of an eye for Juli, which she was thankful for. By the time she fought her way through traffic to get home, the sun had already dipped behind the towering Krimson buildings. And as soon as she closed her apartment door behind her, shrugging off her thick jacket and placing it on the coat rack in the hall, she pulled out her phone from her pocket.

Now it was time to call Mandy. Juli realized, her fingers trembled as she scrolled through the contacts in her phone… but why? …She was just calling about the coffee. That was it. No need to be nervous…

Feeling weak, Juli snatched up a water bottle from the kitchen and went back into her bedroom, practically flopping down on the bed. When she finally found the courage to hit the “send call” button on her screen, she gingerly held it up to her ear to listen to it ring.

Four times the tone sounded before Mandy picked up.

“Hello?”

Juli’s heart skipped a beat when she heard the other’s voice. Again, why? She told herself, snap out of it, Juli.

“Hi, Mandy, it’s, uh…”

“Juli! You got my message, thank goodness, I was a bit worried you’d find it creepy of me to do that, I, um… y-you’re not mad, are you?”

Juli shook her head and then realized the silliness of the gesture since Mandy, of course, was only speaking to her over the phone. “No, no, I’m not mad at all! I, uh, actually I’m happy I could get a hold of you.”

“Oh, you wanted to know how I made the coffee! That’s right…” Mandy went silent for a moment, trailing off.

“Mandy?”

“Hm?”

Juli also paused for a long, uncomfortable beat of time.

“Maybe, instead of telling me—” _Oh god, I’m really doing this aren’t I,_ “—you could show me? I wouldn’t mind…”

“Y-You want me to come over t-to your house? I-I—”

“Or,” Juli hesitated, chewing on her bottom lip for a second as she thought of something to say, “I could always come over to your house, if, um… if that would be any better?”

_What am I doing, she probably has a boyfriend or something, and why am I even getting so worked up? I don’t like women like that. I don’t think. God, what is going on?_

“I’d, ah… I’d like it—if you came over here, i-if that’s okay. I live in the Stoneglass Apartments at Autumn Street? It’s near the main highway…”

Stoneglass? That was one of the upscale neighborhoods on the good side of downtown, Juli remembered. How could she afford that on a barista’s wage—

_I’m thinking too much. Shut up, brain, and just let me live for once._

“Sure, I know where that is,” Juli spoke up, “It’s twenty or so minutes from my place. Go figure.”

“So, maybe Wednesday at noon? I’m off work, so I’ll be free all day.”

Juli nodded, glad the odd happiness of her smile was unseen by the other. It would likely have been somewhat awkward… “I work, but I can come over around 9. Is that too late?”

The phone on the other end made a clunking sound as if Mandy had suddenly dropped it. There was some rustling and quiet mumbles before she was able to talk into the phone clearly again.

“No, that’s fine. I… look forward to seeing you!”

“Me too,” Juli said, a warmer smile spreading across her face. “See you then. Bye, Mandy.”

“Yes, I’ll see you then. Goodbye!”

Juli hung up the phone and sighed, sinking into the comfort of her mattress. Two days and she could find out what was so special about that mystery drink. And Juli looked forward to that very much.

\----

Tuesday morning Juli woke up late, having been unable to sleep due to an anxious excitement about going to see Mandy soon.

“Shit,” she said softly as she glanced over at her alarm clock to inspect the damage. “I’m gonna be so late—”

In record time, Juli jumped out of bed, threw on her uniform and grabbed everything she needed before racing out the door.

“Shit, shit, shit, shit,” Juli muttered angrily as she threw her belongings into the passenger seat of her car before starting it up, near-speeding off in the direction of the police department. It hadn’t occurred to her that she had no time to go see Mandy… she’d use her lunch break instead to visit the shop, she decided when she finally realized her usual morning routine would really be cut short today.

Juli barely had time to settle in at work before Sebastian poked his head out of his office to call for her.

“Kid! We’re on patrol duty, let’s go! You gotta get here on time, you know.”

From behind him, Joseph chimed in, to Juli’s defense. “You’re one to talk. You’re late almost every day.”

“Hey!” Sebastian grumbled, “You stay out of this.”

“Fine, fine, even if it’s true.” Joseph chuckled and Juli joined in as well before an annoyed glance from Sebastian made her stop.

“Joseph, I think you’re with Connelly today. His partner’s out sick, right?”

“You got it. I’ll go check on him. See how he’s holding up,” Joseph said, peeking out into the hallway enough to pass Juli a polite nod, which she returned.

After that brief exchange, Juli and Sebastian headed out to their squad car and Juli sat herself down in the passenger’s seat. Sebastian didn’t complain, as he preferred driving. It gave Juli a chance to observe their surroundings and she was always very vigilant.

Juli wasn’t sure though, how much time had passed once they drove off. Her mind slowly began drifting back toward the memory of Mandy at the coffee shop and she found herself pleasantly daydreaming about finding out that wonderful secret recipe—

“Kid!”

She immediately snapped to attention. “Hm? What?”

“You’re spacing out on me.” He glanced over at her skeptically before returning his eyes to the road in preparation to make a left turn onto one of the lesser busy roads.

“No, I’m not. I’m just thinking.”

“Right,” Sebastian grumbled thoughtfully, “I’ve seen that look before. You’re in love, aren’t you, Kid?”

Damn, he hit the nail on the head faster than she could come up with an excuse.

“Whatever.” She smiled guiltily.

Sebastian would have retorted but the sound of the radio going off interrupted his train of thought. The call went out asking for someone to respond to a car accident, one that wasn’t too far off. Nothing too unusual, given the amount of time it took Krimson to recover from rush-hour traffic.

_Wonder what drunk ran into a tree or something this time?_

Flicking on the lights and making sure to turn the sirens on as well, Sebastian drove off toward the call’s location. He had to dodge a few rubber-neckers who enjoyed the thrill of watching the cruiser pass—much to Sebastian’s distaste for it, he made sure to tell Juli…

She wouldn’t have thought much of it, but something in the back of her mind was sending off warning signals, that this particular call was worse off than what the radio had suggested.

_How bad will it be?_

About six minutes later they could see just how bad it was. There were two cars in the middle of an intersection, traffic stuck as the drivers stared in horror at the two crumpled vehicles in the middle of the road.

“You got this?” Sebastian asked, looking over at Juli questioningly as he prepared to get out of the car. “I’ll let you handle the victims and I’ll move these morons out of the road so traffic isn’t backed up until next week.”

Juli shrugged and smirked grimly. “Will do.”

God, the accident was just as bad as her gut had been warning her. Why did she have to start out the morning with what was likely going to be corpses… at least the fire department hadn’t shown up yet with guns blazing so she could have her ears for a good few minutes until they arrived. Another bitter humorous observation on her part.

Slowly, Juli got out of the car and walked over to the two vehicles. Nothing was on fire, which was good. Rare, but good. The windows of the first car were shattered, due to the impact of the second car head-on into its side. At least it was the passenger’s side that the first car had been impacted, so the driver of said car was likely to be less injured than the second…

A quick glance into the window of the other car affirmed her suspicions. An older male, probably in his sixties, was slumped over the dashboard. By the looks of his position he hadn’t even been wearing his seatbelt. Blood slowly oozed from an open laceration on his head and Juli swore she saw some grey sludge leaking out of it and she didn’t have to think twice to know he was dead. No one loses their brain like that and survives.

_Gotta stay professional._

She turned away before she could gag at the sight of it. Dead bodies were one thing if they were already taken care of, as if for a funeral, but it was always awful being the first one to see them in that state of utter… deadness. At least once they were sent to a funeral home they could be properly taken care of and maybe even fixed up a bit, but this would be a closed casket funeral for him.

To turn her attention away from that, Juli approached the first car and glanced into the driver’s side past the broken glass. A body crumpled inward in a fetal position of sorts across the passenger’s seat. Juli saw the splayed red hair, tangled and mussed, and her heart immediately dropped into her stomach.

_Mandy._

_Why._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oh yes it only goes downhill from here friends c; all aboard the feels train~


	3. Chapter 3

“Mandy? Mandy, it’s me. It’s Juli. Wake up.”

Inspecting the way Mandy was crumpled in the seat, Juli deemed it alright to try the door, since her legs thankfully weren’t pinned into the car from the earlier impact… When she tried the door it opened somewhat and she forced it open a little wider so she could get to Mandy. It wouldn’t be good to pull her out of the car just yet, as much as Juli wanted to, in case Mandy hurt her spine in the accident—moving her now would be an extremely bad idea. The way her shoulder was pinned under herself at an awkward angle wasn’t promising either…

A quiet groan slipped from Mandy’s lips and she slurred out something, blood and drool trailing from an open gash on her lip down her cheek.

_Oh, god._

_There’s so much blood._

“Mandy? Mandy...?”

She raised her head somewhat but slumped against the passenger’s seat again with a pained noise. Juli snapped back to her senses and was about to radio for medics until the comforting sound of a team of ambulances and a firetruck showed up, parking in the midst of the hell Sebastian was trying to direct. Another officer had pulled up when he saw just how crazy things were going—as it usually did when an accident happened at a major intersection—and pulled over as well to help Sebastian move the on-looking cars out of the way of the wreckage. Judging by the relieved look on Sebastian’s face he was glad to have the help.

Mandy choked out a weak sob and her mutterings eventually rose in volume enough to become coherent. “…J-Juli…?”

“Yeah, it’s me, I’m here, you’re gonna be alright.” Juli’s eyes began to tear up, but no, she couldn’t cry now. This was just supposed to be another routine call…

“What… are you… doing here?” the redhead muttered after a series of coughs shook through her body.

“I’m a detective, it’s my job to help people,” Juli mumbled in response but reached down to stroke Mandy’s hair that was beginning to clump together somewhat from thick patches of dried blood. “What are the odds I’d end up being called to help you… can you tell me how this happened?”

Mandy shook her head and winced. “All I remember was… I…” she trailed off for a moment. “I was going to work and… a car hit me… i-it was a green light, I was going… and it came out of nowhere—”

“Just relax and don’t move… it’ll be alright… We’ve got people coming to help.” And speaking of, two paramedics pushed past Juli and began to examine Mandy’s injuries, muttering amongst themselves in some medical jargon that made no sense to her. All she heard was “blood” and “too late” and that was enough to near set her off.

“Can’t you do something?” Juli muttered angrily, crossing her arms as she watched the paramedics at work.

“We’ll do what we can.”

_You damn better, or I’ll have your asses._

A thought swept across Juli’s mind as she stood there. Every time she met someone, or began to get to know someone they always ended up worse off than before they met her. Maybe it was some kind of curse she carried, she wasn’t sure.

But she returned to herself when the paramedics finally removed Mandy carefully from her crumpled car, wheeling her off on a stretcher toward their ambulance. Passing Sebastian on the way over, who was now inspecting the two cars with a stern face, Juli said, “I’m going with her… hopefully I can find out more about what happened if I stay with her. And I’m worried… I saw the other guy…”

Sebastian nodded understandingly. “See you later then, Kid. Be careful.”

Of course, the back of the ambulance was unnecessarily cramped, with the two paramedics, Mandy, and her all pushed together in the claustrophobia-inducing space. But all Juli could do was watch, and keep watching, as the two assessed her and did what they could to help relieve her pain. Juli wished she could be more useful, maybe offer a word or two of comfort, but what would that do if Mandy was borderline unconscious?

Fingers laced together, hands in her lap, Juli sat with her head down and waited, zoning out into thoughts of, what if she didn’t make it. There was some guilt that Juli felt regarding this whole situation. Even if it wasn’t really… maybe if she’d woken up earlier, maybe even called Mandy to see how she was, she would have been behind enough to have this not happen—

Soon Juli felt the ambulance slow to a stop and the paramedics shuffled out with Mandy, leaving Juli behind without so much as but a glance. As much as Juli would have liked to follow them she knew hospitals weren’t the best places to be assertive. The staff had to deal with enough crap in a day.

So she sat in the waiting room after leaving her name at the front desk, and who she was there waiting for. And waited, and waited, watching the minutes on the clock ticking by and she would have fallen asleep if she wasn’t so terrified for Mandy.

When someone called her name, she almost hadn’t noticed it.

“Juli Kidman?”

She looked up, eyes blurry from lack of focus before she could make out the shape and eventual clearness of a nurse, a short stocky middle-aged lady with a warm gaze.

“Is Mandy alright?”

“Yes, Miss Trimble is doing surprisingly well. She’s resting now. The good news is her injuries weren’t bad enough to require major surgery. The only recovery she’ll be facing now is her left shoulder, which seems to have been dislocated as a result of the accident. While it'll take a while to heal, it shouldn’t leave permanent damage if she’s careful.”

“Oh.”

Juli followed as the nurse directed her down the hallways and past a few doors, until she finally came to a stop at a room toward the end of the hall. “She’s in here, but she might be sleeping…”

With a nod, Juli shrugged. “Alright. Thank you for letting me know she’s okay…”

The nurse nodded. “No problem, sweetheart. If you or Miss Trimble needs anything, let someone know.”

“I will. Thank you.”

The nurse walked off and Juli stood in front of the door, struggling with her brain.

_Mandy’s fine. The nurse said so. She’s fine._

Pushing open the door the rest of the way, Juli quietly stepped into the room. Mandy laid there on the bed, unmoving, eyes half-closed as she stared up at the ceiling. She likely hadn’t even heard Juli enter the room. Her shoulder was covered in thick bandaging, but Juli was relieved to find no blood seeping through it yet.

“Mandy?” Juli spoke quietly. “How are you feeling?”

Mandy’s eyes slowly drifted down from watching the ceiling to rest at Juli’s gaze. “Oh, Juli, you… what are you doing here? I thought you had to work…”

“I am working. But I wanted to check on you. How’s your shoulder?”

“Hurts… the doctor said, I won’t be able to do a lot of movement…” Mandy drifted off for a moment before snapping back, gasping at a realization. “Oh, no!”

“What? What is it?” Juli asked, anxiety filling her tone as she stepped closer to Mandy’s bed, putting a hand on bed’s railing. “Do you need something?”

“Mocha!”

“You want coffee?” Juli asked for clarification, “I don’t know if tha—”

“No, Mocha! My baby! My poor kitty, what if I’m stuck here, I can’t take care of him! I have to find a sitter, right now! He gets lonely really easily… a-and I can’t feed him if I’m trapped in the hospital!”

Juli placed a hand on Mandy’s uninjured shoulder and ran her thumb against the fabric of her hospital gown. “If, um. If you’re alright with it I’ll watch him until you can get out of here? So you don’t have to worry. I’m good with animals…”

“You would do that… a-and you barely know me? I don’t know what to say…” Mandy smiled weakly, leaning into Juli’s touch.

Smiling back, Juli pulled the chair by the bed closer and sat down next to her. “Ah, don’t worry about it. Just focus on getting better, okay? The sooner your shoulder heals up the better.”

Mandy nodded. “Right. If you could go to my place when you have the time, it’s the first apartments when you drive in… I’m on the second floor, 220A. I do keep a spare key tucked into the wreath on the door…”

“Alright. I’ll drop by tonight.”

A few silent moments passed between them before Mandy spoke up again, voice hushed as she had almost fallen asleep. “…Hey, Juli?”

“Yeah?”

“Thank you… when… when I get out of here, I’ll be sure to make you that coffee again… I really appreciate you being here for me like this.”

Juli shook her head. “I don’t mind waiting. Really, don’t worry about it. And as long as you have someone here to look over you…”

“I don’t,” Mandy muttered, looking away from Juli to watch the passing clouds through the window with a strange expression in her half-open eyes. “It’s just me.”

“What do you mean?”

_Do I really want to know? Does she really not have anyone else to take care of her? Then, how…_

Mandy remained silent and Juli was about to change the subject but she eventually spoke up.

“Juli, I… my mother died when I was very young, and my father often got in trouble with the law… w-we moved all over the place until we finally landed in Krimson… I’ve been here for six years. With his—money—he bought us an apartment in Stoneglass and then… a-and then…”

“Please don’t strain yourself,” Juli muttered, squeezing Mandy’s shoulder in a consoling gesture. “We can talk later…”

“He died last year, Juli, and I got his money… b-but I want to move out. I can’t afford living there much longer… a-and I don’t want to see the walls of that place any more than I have to.”

_So that’s it. God, that sucks… If I could do something more to help… I know we’re not supposed to get this involved in cases, but. I knew her beforehand. Who cares if it was only for a few days. I want to help her. I want to be there for her because being alone without anyone there to love you…_

_Love…_

_Maybe Sebastian was right after all. I’m… damn, I must be falling in love after all…_

“Juli?” Mandy asked, raising her hand up enough to rest it against Juli’s on her shoulder.

“Hm?”

“I… um… if I can… repay you after I get out of here…”

Juli smiled softly. “I said don’t worry about it.”

“B-but—”

“Okay, okay, I’ll think of something.” Juli leaned just a bit closer, brushing a stray strand of red curl from Mandy’s forehead.

“Okay…” Mandy blushed but said nothing else.

And Juli leaned even closer, rubbing Mandy’s shoulder gently as she just barely brushed her lips against Mandy’s warm forehead. “Now get some rest, okay?”

“I-I… I, um… o-okay…”

 _Shit, maybe that was a horrible idea,_ Juli thought, cringing inwardly as she sat back into the chair and scooted it back a few inches, refusing to meet Mandy’s eyes now. _What are you thinking, Juli, this is not good… is it? She… she needs someone to watch out for her and I just… all I want to do is protect her. All I can do is do my best…_

“Thanks, Juli…”

Juli smiled before standing and stretching her arms over her head. “You’re welcome. Hey, tomorrow after I get off work I’ll sneak you in something good. I know the food here isn’t the best…”

Mandy smiled sheepishly. “Yeah… I’ve been here a few times before, so…”

“Hm.” Juli turned to step out the door. She really had to get going back to work… “See you tomorrow then?”

“Sounds like a plan…”

“Get lots of rest and as much as it sucks, listen to the doctors, they usually know what they’re doing.” Juli chuckled.

“Yes, mother,” Mandy replied with a quiet giggle. “Of course.”

And with that Juli gave Mandy a small wave goodbye and turned to leave, heading back down the long hallway and out the way she came. Back to work. Sebastian was probably losing his mind over her taking “leisure time” or whatever he’d try to compare it to. She’d just have to explain, in a way that didn’t give away her secret…

_Well it’s not a secret. What am I talking about? Sebastian never saw her. He’s not gonna know. You’re being paranoid. Think about it later._

So in the meantime, Juli pulled out her phone and called for Sebastian, to give him and update and ask for a ride. She had been dropped off after all…


End file.
